A Burning Thirst
by maz87UK
Summary: Its the evening after Bill and Fleur's wedding. The fire is burning in the living room, and a young man finds himself suddenly thirsty. Ron&Hermione. Rated M for strong sexual content. Please R&R!
1. Passion

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, as you all know they belong to Ms J.K Rowling.

Setting: The Burrow

He watched her sitting there by the fireplace, engulphed by the book she was reading. She looked so innocent, so pure. He could hear the crackling of the fire, overwhelming the silence. She was twirling a strand of her curly brunette hair around her forefinger – he seemed to be drawn by the way she moved and caressed it around her finger. The way she bit her bottom lip was so soft, so enthralling – she was always so concentrated in what she was doing, you could feel her strength and determination as if it were an invisible force field surrounding the room. His eyes moved down her body; how he longed to touch it, to taste it and see what was hidden behind that pink cotton blouse she was wearing – he was sure that her body would be perfect. She hadn't even seemed to notice that they were alone now, everyone had gone to bed tired from the wedding earlier that day. She hadn't realised that he had now been watching her for ten minutes, longing and wanting. His best friend was so enticing – he just had to have her right now, he had waited too long.

Ron stood up and walked over to the kitchen – he needed a glass of water to quench his thirst.

_I'm so thirsty _he thought, _thirsty for her._

"Oh my goodness!" uttered a voice from behind him, "Ron do you know what time it is?"

"I…er…haven't really been watching the time Hermione no…" he replied quietly.

"We really should get to bed you know, we've got to be up early tomorrow to leave for Godric's Hollow – Harry must have already gone to bed" Hermione stated matter-of-factly.

Ron turned to face her, looking into her eyes. The two best friends remained silent for a minute or two just looking at eachother.

_When is he going to realise how much he means to me? How much I long to be with him every night, how much I just want to hold him in my arms…he can't be that naïve, can he?_

Hermione shook her head; it wasn't the time to be thinking like this. There were more important things to be dealt with – like finding the rest of the Horcruxes.

"Well, I'm gonna go up then – hopefully Ginny is already fast asleep otherwise we'll be up all night chatting!" she laughed as she got up off of the floor and headed to the corridor.

"Don't…not yet…" Ron spoke tiringly. Hermione froze and turned around, she felt as though she was nailed to the floor as Ron walked over to her. As she stood face-to-face with the man she loved, Hermione noticed that the top button of the black shirt, which Ron was wearing, was undone, revealing part of his chest. The shirt clung to his body and she saw how toned and rippling his torso was – Hermione felt her nerves kick in, and her heart started beating faster as he inched closer and closer to her. Ron brought his hand up to her cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb – both couldn't seem to stop looking into eachother's eyes. You could see the burning fire through what was a tiny gap between them, and it appeared as though their bodies were ignited by an orange glow – the room suddenly felt achingly hot, bursting to the brim with passion. As Hermione's cheek lay resting in Ron's hand he dared to move his lips closer to hers; those lips which he had been longing to taste for so long. He could feel her sweet breath gently gliding past his lips. Hermione's lips began to tremble as she could feel her best friend's lips drawing nearer and smelt that musky scent of his, but she couldn't bare it any longer and gasping suddenly, turned away from him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to regain herself.

"Ron…we…I can't do this right now" she whispered begrudgingly.

But Ron didn't seem to hear her; even thought her back was turned to him he edged forward and slowly pulled the hair to the left side of her neck back. Hermione sighed as both of Ron's hands were on either shoulder and she felt his fingers glide down her arms and back, resting finally on her hips. Ron could feel her trembling, yet he somehow knew that she wanted him to go on touching her and moved to softly kiss her neck. Hermione let out a tiny gasp as she felt Ron's moist lips caress her neck and she found herself slightly contracting, responding to his touch. Ron's hand slowly pulled down one side of the blouse covering her shoulder and kissed her bare flesh, slowly moving upward to nibble her ear before finally finding himself caressing her neck with his tongue. It was at this moment that Hermione finally let out a tiny moan and turned back to face him throwing her arms around his neck. Before she knew what was happening she found herself passionately kissing the man who stood before her, and felt his tongue stroking the inside of her mouth, she nibbled at his lips and her tongue found its way into his mouth as it massaged his tongue. Ron let out a soft moan as her hands ran up and down his slender, firm torso slowly tugging at his buttons – ripping them off. Ron's hands moved down to hold Hermione's tight, round bottom in his hands and he tenderly squeezed them leading Hermione to utter a gasp of surprise and pleasure. She giggled softly as she removed his shirt revealing that tender torso which she had coveted only moments ago. Ron's hands moved under her blouse, touching the flesh of her stomach and hips – she felt so warm and smooth, his fingers ran up her bare back and he soon could no longer hold back almost tearing her pink blouse off to reveal that gorgeous body which he had yearned for only minutes ago. Their lips parted as Hermione seductively moistened her forefinger within her mouth, then ran it gradually down the middle of Ron's torso. He adored her teasing and her touch as he examined her breasts hidden by that sexy black bra which looked so firm and pert – he knew that they were the perfect size, he could probably cup them in his hands. Hermione leaned in to kiss his again, and then she lightly licked his lips, causing him to respond with a shiver and tiny goosebumps appeared all over his body. As they kissed further Ron felt Hermione's moist finger reaching toward his jeans, casually undoing the top button. As she pulled his jeans off, Ron interrupted their clinch,

"Hermione…are you sure about this?" he asked lovingly while stroking her hair.

Hermione pursed her lips and looked down at the floor, then flicking her hair back she looked up into those gorgeous blue eyes of his and said,

"Ronald…I've never been more sure of anything in my life"

Ron grinned broadly and went to kiss her once more –

"Wait" she cried. Hermione ran over to her bag laying on the floor and took out her wand then pointed it at the door,

"_Silencio!" _

Ron chuckled, "Oh I knew there was a reason why I loved you Hermione"

She laughed wildly as he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist fully aware of the bulge she could now feel against her inner thigh. Still massaging eachother's tongues passionately, Ron pulled Hermione up against the wall and she gasped with satisfaction as he began kissing above her still covered breast moving down to her belly button where he playfully licked at.

"Mmmm…" she groaned "that feels sooo good…"

Ron's fingers moved towards her jeans swiftly unbuttoning and trailing them to the floor. Hermione pulled him up longing for him to caress the inside of her mouth again and she undid her bra clasp allowing him to glide it off and throw it to the ground. As Ron pressed up against her she could not only feel the coldness of the wall; which sent an odd yet satisfying shiver down her back but she could also now sense the huge bulge coming from Ron's boxers teasingly touching the most intimate place between her legs – even with her knickers on she felt a sudden quivering desire for him to enter her. Ron's warm hand moved towards Hermione's pert breast and he was proved right as it cupped perfectly into his hand. Ron circled the area around her nipple with his finger causing it to become suddenly erect and as he placed his fiery, moist mouth on her breast Hermione let out a loud moan while he caressed it with his tongue just as he had done earlier inside her mouth. Ron felt a deep satisfaction as he knew he was making her shudder with pleasure so much; her hands running through his hair sent a moaning shiver down his spine and he carefully removed her underwear to reveal a heathen of innocence. Ron's tongue started moving down and down, teasing her, enticing her until it finally reached the place where no man had gone before. He could already taste her sweet, smouldering feminine moist and Hermione erupted with tiny gasps which started getting louder and louder as Ron continued to place his long, wet tongue in all the right crevices of her intimacy. Hermione felt herself getting hotter and hotter, she could feel the waves of pleasure erupting through her body making her shake and moan profusely until there was a final, sudden explosion satisfying her to an extent which she never thought possible.

"Oh…Ron that was incredible…" she muttered as he got up to plant another soft kiss on her lips.

"Mmm…you ain't seen nothing yet…" he whispered in her ear, nibbling at it mischievously.

Hermione suddenly grabbed him and a surprised yet very turned-on Ron found himself slammed up against the wall as she began kissing his torso and gliding her tongue across his abdomen. Ron closed his eyes in awe as she removed his maroon boxers and felt Hermione's wet, warm mouth enclose over his member. Ron groaned with pleasure as she sucked, licked and slurped away, making him shake and tremble just as she had done before. But just as he knew that he was about to reach his peak, Hermione stopped and drew her mouth away. Ron opened his eyes and looked at her, she had a mischievous little grin on her face and it dawned on him as to what she was doing.

"Oh Hermione…this isn't fair…" he spoke, still aching for her.

She slowly stepped back toward the rug by the fireplace,

"Hmmm…I know a fair bit about teasing Ron Weasley…I know this is making you even hotter…" she said, running her fingers down her own body, gliding between her breasts and stomach – Ron moaned; he was almost gushing with desire "I've waited for almost four years…we both have…" she continued, laying tantalisingly by the fire, the way she lay there made him burn even more – one leg with raised knee, the other leg lying straight across the floor, supporting the top half of her body up with her elbows, "surely you can wait just a little bit longer…can't you?" she finished giggling.

Ron sighed – she knew exactly how to torment him. Walking over, he kneeled down beside her and held her cheek in his hand once more, then looking into her eyes he said,

"Baby, if I wait any longer….I will explode" he whispered sexily. And with that he lifted her up on top of him kissing those teasing lips of hers and running his hands through her hair. Ron moaned again as she rubbed her groin against his, feeling it start to arouse once more – he was driving her insane.

"Oh god that is it I can't take this anymore…" he stated, impulsively turning round to be on top of her as she cried with a good surprise _('Oooo!'). _As Hermione placed her hands around his neck, spread her legs and raised her knees either side of Ron's body, he finally entered her – both of them gasping with satisfaction. Kiss upon kiss and thrust upon thrust ensued as they both gasped and moaned with pleasure, Hermione wrapped her legs firmly around Ron's waist pulling him tighter into her – the sensation inside her was amazing, scorching with each thrust Ron gave. The faster he got, the more she moaned and gasped – both of them were dripping with sweat, feeling hotter and hotter. Hermione could feel her hair now clinging to her face and her kiss with Ron deepened and slowed as each thrust became harder and harder – satisfying them both. She arched her back as her toes curled. Her nails dug into his back making half-moons in his skin and dragging them down his back, this spurned Ron on even more – he knew that his back was almost close to bleeding but he had never felt anything like this before; there was no pain at all, just a throbbing, vibrating feeling within every inch of his body. They were no longer kissing but now gasping wildly for breath, Ron kept his eyes on Hermione's face which was turned to the side, eyes closed, mouth half-open moaning and sweating – he could tell she was enjoying this just as much as he was. Climax after climax followed, neither wanted to take a break as they continued having sex for over an hour. Hermione found herself fully in control as she sat on top of him, moving up and down, making him groan with pleasure, able to tease him, able to release him. She threw her head back moaning as Ron could no longer hold back but supported her on top of him, arching his back and sending thrust after thrust into her. She murmured his name as his hands glided up and down her body, massaging her breasts while she moved up and down. With one swift, hard, final thrust from Ron she came just as he did inside of her. She lay on top of him for a minute or two, both of them panting for breath and oozing beads of sweat. Hermione tenderly kissed Ron's lips and soon they couldn't resist and had started grinding and thrusting some more – this time with Hermione up against the wall. If there were no silencing spell placed in the room, Ron was sure that the whole of Ottery St. Catchpole would be able to hear them. Hermione tingled as his face was buried in her neck while he continued thrusting into her up against the wall – with one final screaming orgasm they stopped, catching their breath as they went to lay on the living-room rug together. After almost ten minutes of regaining their breath, Ron – who held Hermione in his arms – looked into her eyes and said,

"Well…I'd say that was probably about two and a half hours of four years sexual tension we made up for…just a couple more left I think…" he chuckled naughtily kissing her on the forehead.

Hermione looked at Ron and ran her finger down his still sweating torso once more, "Hmmm…you do know that this probably won't happen again until _after _we've helped Harry find and destroy all the Horcruxes, tackled a few Death Eaters, slaughtered a number of giants, jinxed a couple of werewolves, Patronus charmed a hundred Dementor's and hunted down a certain ex-Defence against the Dark Arts Teacher…"

Ron looked slightly crestfallen. Hermione kissed him again and jumped up,

"Well…I'm off to bed…its almost 3am!" she chirped, staring down at a starkers Ronald Weasley. He stood up from the floor and yawned, stretching. Hermione beamed at him, gathered up her clothes and then turned to leave.

"Oh no you don't," yelled a roguish Ron, rapidly grabbing her arm before she could open the door " you see…I'd make it at least another hour or so before we _really _need to go to sleep, I mean we have to be up at nine right? That gives us at least five hours sleep and we get less than that during exam times…"

Hermione sighed laughing, "But Ron we've –"

Ron interrupted her, "Listen Miss Granger…there is no _way_ that you are going to bed when I could have another _orgasmic_ hour satisfying you…_especially_ if this is the only night we can have sex for a _long_ time…oh no…you are staying right here…"

And with that final sentiment, Ron scooped a somewhat shocked, yet now slightly horny Hermione up into his arms and carried her over to the rug by the fireplace.

"Another hour?" Hermione cried looking up from underneath him "Oh _please_ Ron…we have a _lot _of making up to do…" she giggled as he grinned broadly.

This was going to be long night.


	2. Weasley Intuition

**Chapter Two**

It was almost eight o'clock in the morning, and a pair of emerald green eyes had just opened to greet the morning sunlight. The boy with that lightning-bolt scar, the scar that had caused him so much pain in so many ways, lay in bed for a while thinking. He knew that this was going to be a long, difficult year for him – even more so now that he had lost the wizard who had meant so much to him, who had done so much to help him get through the pain, who –up until five weeks ago – he believed was invincible. Harry had now lost four people whom he dearly loved at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters; he was going to avenge them if it was the last thing he was going to do. A sudden loud snore interrupted Harry's thoughts and he turned to look at his best friend who, as usual, was sprawled across his bed in the oddest of positions noisily lost in his sleep. Looking at Ron, Harry slightly cheered up knowing that although he had lost so many people dear to him, he still had his two best friends, their families and the Order, and they were going to be with him every step of the way.

_I'll be damned if I lose any of them too._

With a loud, long yawn Harry rose from his bed and slipped his glasses on. After going through the normal morning routine of getting washed, brushed and changed he walked over to the mirror to see how he looked. He had started making a habit of this recently as, although he knew nothing was going to come of it, he had been living in the same house as Ginny Weasley for nearly three weeks now and for some reason he kept making sure that he didn't look a state. Looking in the mirror Harry knew that there was no point in even trying to neaten his jet-black hair, as whatever he did, it always looked as though he had just got out of bed. While getting ready, Harry had repeatedly nudged, prodded, poked and yelled at Ron to get out of bed – but he still had received no response from his friend. Harry sighed, _Well there's only one way to wake this boy up now…_

Harry got out his wand and cleared his throat.

"Sorry Ron, but you asked for this," he said apologetically, "_Levicorpus!" _he yelled pointing his wand at the sprawled heap on Ron's bed.

"Aaaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh!"

Ron was hanging in the air by his ankle and looked absolutely furious, "For crying out loud Harry couldn't you have just woke me up the muggle way?!" he yelled shaking his fist at him.

"Err…I tried to Ron about a _million _times but you just wouldn't budge…its your own fault!" he replied, trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh for f—well let me down then I'm awake now ain't I?" he cried back.

Harry chuckled as he muttered the counter-curse at Ron and let him down with a huge _**thud!**_ onto the bed.

"Ooof…cheers…," said Ron, somewhat sarcastically. He had never felt so tired in all his life. Ron had literally climbed into bed about two hours ago after a climatic, energetic yet fulfilling night of passion with Hermione, but he thought it best that this new development was kept hidden for a while. Ron shook his head and stood up stretching.

"Ron!" shouted Harry, making his friend jump slightly, "What the _hell_ happened to your back?!" he finished, with a rather shocked look on his face.

Ron turned around, looking fairly sheepish.

_Ah, I'd forgotten about that._

"I…er…well…see my back was really…erm itchy last night so I got a little bit…you know carried away with the scratching…of it…" he replied half-smiling.

"But…Ron its just like long continous lines of your skin torn from your shoulders all the way down to your waist…you can't _possibly _have been able to –"

"Look does it really matter anyway? It's not that big a deal it doesn't hurt or anything," Ron interrupted sensing that Harry was starting to get a little bit supsicious, "just forget it alright Harry?"

"But –"

"I'm gonna go have a shower" Ron stated over him, grabbing his towel and walking out of the room.

Harry frowned – what was it exactly that his best friend was hiding?

Harry went downstairs into the kitchen to be greeted by a whole table full of food, tea, drinks and people – practically the whole of the Order aswell as the usual clan of Weasley's were sitting around the table and living-area of The Burrow. Harry smiled at them all – he appreciated the fact that they were all there to see him, Hermione and Ron off safely. Sitting down at the breakfast table Harry helped himself to some toast and jam, and as usual Mrs Weasley insisted on feeding him until he felt as though his stomach was going to spontaneously combust. Harry suddenly realised that there was someone (apart from Ron who was still getting ready) missing.

"Ginny…where's Hermione?" he asked.

"She must still be getting changed or something…I don't think she managed to get much sleep" she replied sounding a tad concerned.

Harry sat back in his chair and pondered at this revelation for a moment or two, before the girl herself walked into the kitchen looking as though she'd much rather be in bed than anywhere else right now.

"Now where has our darling brother _ickle Ronnie-kins_ got to?" George asked the room, "the least he could do is be at his own 'hope you don't snuff it' party"

"_George!"_ yelled Mrs Weasley, whacking him round the head with a saucepan.

The wheels in Harry's head began turning and he slowly looked up at Hermione who was clearly avoiding his gaze. Harry waited a while until the twins had left the table to join the others in the living room.

"Hermione?" he began, adamantly trying to get his friend to look him in the eye.

"Hmm?" she replied, suddenly deciding that she needed more milk on her cereal – though Harry strongly suspected that this was just an excuse to avoid Harry's stare again.

"Ron woke up this morning with some strange marking's all the way down his back…do you know anything about it?"

Hermione's eyes widened slightly at this comment, but she took a quick breath and scoffed, "Oh come on Harry, what makes you think _I_ know anything about it?"

"Just that you're both acting really weirdly this morning and I _know_ that you're hiding something from me!"

"I am _not_ acting weird Harry! Why should I be acting weird? You're just being paranoid" she retorted in a low whisper.

Ron walked in still looking very tired and sat down at the table, helping himself to some breakfast – it appeared as though lack-of-sleep didn't affect Ron's usual appetite much. Harry sat back in his chair with his arms crossed looking from Ron to Hermione, then from Hermione to Ron and slowly it began to dawn on him…

"Oh my god…you guys-"

But Harry was interrupted by an evidently mischevious looking grin from Fred, who had sat down with a sudden swoop next to Hermione. He was looking at her with an odd expression on his face and Hermione began to notice this too.

"Um…yes?" she asked wearily.

"I _think _Hermione that this might belong to you" Fred replied, trying to suppress a snort of laughter.

Hermione gasped as he dangled a black-patterned bra in front of her – though clearly trying to prevent those who were not at the table from seeing it. Her cheeks went a distinctive shade of scarlet as she snatched it off him and hid the bra under the table.

"How did you know it belonged to Hermione?!" Ginny asked in an accusatory tone.

Hermione flapped her hands about looking slightly flustered, "Oh…no no no! We didn't –"

Fred put his hand up to silence Hermione. "My dear sister, let's just say that we Weasley men have a little something called intuition…now they obviously weren't _yours_ because our little sister doesn't wear things like that yet," he began, raising his right eye-brow, "and Fleur…well she would _never leave her personal zings lying around like zat _and Mum has no reason for a saucy little black number like that 'cos-"

"Actually Mum and Dad are still pretty-" Ginny butt-in only to be greeted with a wild '_Aww gross shut up!'_ from both Fred and Ron and a snort of laughter from Harry.

"So," Fred continued, (still looking mildly disgusted thus taking a deep breath in an attempt to recover) "due to an extremely intelligent process of elimination there was none other left than our resident Gryffindor Hermione here!" he exclaimed looking thoroughly satisfied with himself.

Hermione smiled at him patronisingly, "Yes _thank you_ Fred for those kind words of wisdom there but we have more important things to be talking about - like how we're going to get to Godric's Hollow safely for instance"

Harry sat forward, placing his elbows on the table and looking Hermione directly in the eye,

"_Or_ you can tell us how exactly such a normally well-behaved young witch can give Ron such extensive scars to his back!" he whispered.

Both Ron and Hermione choked on their morning cereal and it took a while before either of them could speak due to all the coughing and spluttering that followed.

"Keep it down will you Harry!" growled Ron in a low voice.

"What is this? Doeth my ears deceiveth me? Have you two done the business?" uttered George, who while grabbing a scone from the table had overheard the latter part of the conversation.

"About bloody time too" said Fred looking relieved.

"Yeah we were beginning to wonder whether you were adopted Ron," added George, "but every Weasley boy gets the girl in the end eh?" he finished with a wink and a nudge.

Ron's ears had gone as red as the jumper he was wearing, "Yeah alright…you can shut up now" he muttered.

"I just can't believe you guys didn't say anything to me" scowled Harry, "did you think I wouldn't work it out?"

"Oh we're sorry Harry…its just that…well you know there are more important things to be getting on with and we just thought that it would be better if we left things for a while and focused on the bigger issues…like Voldemort" replied Hermione.

"Yeah mate, don't think it's cos we don't trust you or anything, just right now helping you comes first…especially after Dumbledore…" agreed Ron, looking reminiscent.

To their surprise Harry laughed.

"Guys seriously its no problem, if it hadn't have happened soon I would have ended up killing you both – especially after what you put me through last year!"

"Excuse me but I didn't put you through anything Harry, " leaped in Hermione, "it was Ronald here who decided to have his lips permanently glued to a certain Miss Brown – not me!"

"Er _hello_ do the words 'Cormac' and 'McLaggen' mean anything to you?" retaliated Ron with an 'I-can't-believe-you-did-that' sort of look on his face.

"Yes, well…that's different…you deserved that" she retorted, turning on him.

Ron looked as though Hermione had just slapped him round the face. "I did _not!_"

Hermione scoffed, "Yes you did! Flaunting Lavender in my face every day-"

"I wasn't flaunting her what are you-"

"Deliberately trying to make me jealous you-"

"Oh as if you actually fancied McLaggen-"

"Well if you hadn't got with Lavender then-"

"GUYS!!" Ron and Hermione both jumped with a start, "you were both prats ok?" yelled Harry.

They both shrugged _('I guess…')_ and gave each other an apologetic look.

"Well at least you've finally got there" said Ginny, standing up and stretching.

The friends however could no longer discuss the topic as a frantic Mrs Weasley rushed over and hurried them along, telling them that they had to leave soon, asking them if they had got everything they needed and informing them that Remus, Tonks and Mad-Eye were going to escort them safely to Godric's Hollow. The trio had gathered everything together within ten minutes and began saying their thankyous and goodbyes. Many an eye was filled with tears - with the promise that everything would be ok in the end.

With a heavy heart, Harry walked towards Ginny who was standing by the gate on her own staring at the ground.

"Ginny?" he said quietly, trying to ignore the lump in his throat.

She looked up at him, and a single tear rolled down her cheek as she did.

Harry's throat had gone dry – he had no idea what to say to her to make her feel better. With a tiny gulp he went to wipe the tears away from her face with his thumb.

"Hey – you'll be ok Ginny…I know you will"

It was silent for a while as she took a deep breath.

"Please come back" she sniffed softly, "if you leave me and this world forever Harry…I'll never forgive you"

Harry's eyes began to water – he was finding it hard to let her go. He took her face in his hands, looked her in the eyes and said, "I love you so much"

As tears streamed down Ginny's face she gave a tiny sob and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck kissing him. He knew he shouldn't be doing this but Harry felt as though his heart had skipped a beat as he felt those lips touch his one last time, he hadn't realised it would be this difficult for him to leave her. Breaking apart and holding her against his chest, he whispered, "I'll be back Ginny – I promise"

"I love you too Harry – more than you'll ever know" she said under her breath. She knew that as she watched him leave a piece of her heart would follow him, and that piece would return when he did.

Tearing himself away from her he solemnly walked towards the others and climbed aboard his Firebolt. Saying their final goodbyes, the six witches and wizards kicked-off of the ground and with one last hovering glance at Ginny, Harry took off, knowing that the last thing he had just said to the girl he loved may well have been a lie.


	3. Moments

Chapter Three 

"Stay close to us you three – and what are you playing at Harry? Put your invisibility cloak on now!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione were flying through the air on their broomsticks, accompanied by three of their friend's and member's of the Order. Mad-Eye had just reprimanded Harry on not wearing his invisibility cloak and hastened to remind him that he was Voldemort and his Death Eater's number one target. Harry apologised swiftly and wrapped the cloak around him, disappearing out of sight – he had been so busy still thinking of Ginny back at the burrow that the cloak had completely slipped his mind.

"Listen guys, I know we're not allowed to know what exactly it is that Dumbledore told you lot to do," began Tonks as she flew on one side of Ron, "I just hope that you can contact us if you ever need any help or are in trouble"

"Yes, Tonks is right" agreed Lupin, "just make sure you don't go sending any Owl's to us though – they could easily be intercepted"

Ron looked confused, "Remus, how else are we supposed to contact you?" he asked.

"It's alright Ron," replied Hermione, "I know how to send messages using a Patronus – you know, just like the Order"

"Well done Hermione, but remember always be careful – if you feel as though its not safe to reach us…then just let us know you are safe at least ok?" added Lupin, with a nervous look on his face.

Harry felt a guilty knot tighten in his stomach. He knew that the lives of the people he loved were at risk because of him, and as much as he tried to convince them that he would be ok, neither Ron, Hermione nor anyone else would let him complete the task on his own. Although the Order had no idea about Harry's mission to find and destroy the Horcruxes, he knew that they were all in danger – Voldemort knew that they would do everything in their power to prevent him from taking over, and he also knew about the strong connection that they all had with Harry. He couldn't bare it if any of them died, or were gravely injured because of him. The mere thought of it made Harry feel sick. As they all gently landed in a clearing of a familiar looking forest and Harry climbed off of his broom, it was as though Hermione had read his mind.

"Harry…we promised you that we would all help, and be with you every step of the way, so please stop worrying" she told him, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Hermione's right Harry, our safety is a small price to pay if it means that you can finally destroy you-know-who…and for good this time" added Ron, walking over to pat his best friend on the back.

This was little comfort to Harry, who couldn't think of anything worse than losing more of the people he loved. But he reluctantly smiled, if only to leave his friends content that he was ok with it all.

"Where are we anyway?" asked Ron, looking slightly bemused.

"We're in a forest about ten miles from Godric's Hollow" stated Lupin while pacing slowly to and fro. Tonks went towards him and held his hand gently.

"Harry it's not entirely safe for you to visit your parent's graves yet – we think that the place is being watched by Death Eaters," said Mad-Eye glancing at Tonks and Lupin briefly, "they're probably expecting you to go there…perhaps you should all camp out here for a while and make sure you know what it is that you're going to do – its always best to have a plan" he finished.

Mad-Eye always liked to keep organised and reined a tight schedule – he reminded Harry of a Colonel training and leading his Army to battle. Every leader had to have a strategy.

Lupin looked at Tonks with a loving expression and kissed her hand before he let go, he walked toward Harry and stopped for a moment just looking at his best-friend's son with a solemn look in his eye. Then he opened his mouth and spoke,

"James and Lily would be so proud of you Harry, I hope you know that"

"Thanks Remus" he replied, "I know how much my mum and dad meant to you and I promise that I'll succeed, for all of you" he added, looking round at the others who were all smiling sympathetically at him.

"Well Harry," uttered Tonks, breaking the silence, "we best be off – Molly must be driving Arthur up the wall by now wondering where we've got to"

"Good luck you three, if Dumbledore believes that you can do it, so do we" cried Mad-Eye as he lifted himself up onto his broom.

Harry, Ron and Hermione watched as Lupin, Tonks and Mad-Eye flew away, and soon they were setting up camp. Hermione erected the tent while Ron and Harry cast protective charms around them in order to prevent them from being detected – by muggles aswell as Death Eater's. It was at least an hour before the trio could finally sit down to a lunchtime meal. Thankfully, Mrs Weasley had provided Hermione with a large supply of food, which she had fit into her bag along with many other essentials by performing an Undetectable Extension Charm. It was at times like these that Harry and Ron greatly appreciated Hermione's presence and spell work in their lives.

"So guys, like Mad-Eye said, we've got to come up with a way to do this properly" began Hermione, drinking a glass of Butterbeer, "what is it exactly that you want to do once we get to Godric's Hollow Harry?" she asked him as he took another bite out of his turkey sandwich.

"Harry…I don't wanna sound like a git or anything, but shouldn't we be trying to find the rest of the Horcruxes first?" he suggested, looking a little unsure of himself, "I mean I don't really think that you-know-who would hide one _there _would he?"

Harry sighed and looked up at his friends. Ron was right. What chance could there have been that Voldemort had hidden a horcrux at the place where his parent's had once lived? It had no real meaning to him other than the fact that it was the residence of the boy who had the _power to vanquish the Dark Lord_ and that was certainly no reason to hide a horcrux there. The Gaunt shack and the cave where the other two horcruxes had once laid where of great significance to Voldemort and his past and as far as he knew, few others would know about these places.

"You're right Ron…I can visit my parent's graves later, right now we need to find Hufflepuff's cup, something belonging to Ravenclaw, Nagini and the _real_ locket" he replied, suddenly holding the locket round his neck tightly. It hung round Harry's neck as a constant reminder to what he had lost for this fake horcrux, for Voldemort and made Harry utterly determined to find this R.A.B and the real locket to destroy.

Hermione's eyes began watering as she watched Harry's grip on the locket tighten and Ron went over to put his arm around her for comfort.

"So where do you wanna start then Harry?" questioned Ron as Hermione's head rested on his shoulder.

"I have a feeling…that we need to go back to Grimmauld Place…" he whispered sounding alarmed at his own words. Harry didn't know why, but a small voice in his head, was urging him to start at the house that his godfather had left him. He knew that it was risky – Snape could easily have told Voldemort about the old headquarters of the order now that he had revealed his true colours. Bur for some reason he knew that it was the right decision. Ron and Hermione appeared to have the same thoughts on how risky it was as they immediately began protesting and telling Harry their doubts, but Harry was adamant – they had to go there first. He frowned for a moment as he wondered whether the feeling in his gut was sent by Sirius as he looked down on his godson, giving him a message from beyond the veil. But then he laughed at himself and realised how stupid this sounded, putting this feeling down to the fact that he was sure there was something that lay undiscovered about the house of Black and it was after all once residence to a pure-blood loving family (with the exception of Sirius of course).

"Harry we can't all fit under your invisibility cloak anymore" said Hermione, causing Harry to re-awaken from his thoughts, "so I prepared some Polyjuice Potion last month for Ron and I"

"Yeah it's safer that way," replied Harry, "I'm sure most people – aswell as Voldemort know by now that you two are always by my side"

He gave them both a thankful look, which they returned with a sort-of 'don't-worry-about-it' smile and they all decided that they should begin trying to work out where else Voldemort could have hidden a horcrux and how they were going to destroy one when they found it. Harry thought it best that they disapparate to Grimmauld Place after dark as it was easier for them to move about without being noticed much, so they decided to rest for a couple of hours before the sun set.

Ron and Hermione lay down together on a bed, and as Harry listened to them whispering and giggling, and saw them holding hands out of the corner of his eye, he wished that he had Ginny in his arms. He couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at the fact that Ron had the girl he loved lying right next to him, and yet Harry was miles and miles away from the girl of his dreams. He closed his eyes and imagined that he was walking along the banks of a river with her, her red hair shimmering in the sunlight and the soft touch of her skin against his. He remembered those kisses he had shared with her, and how sweet she had tasted – soon Harry found himself lost in dreams of a world where there was no scar, no Voldemort, but just he and Ginny lying in eachother's arms forever.

As Hermione lay resting against Ron, she looked at Harry and smiled as she saw how peaceful he looked now. She knew that it wasn't to last but was at thankful at least, that not every moment of Harry's life was taken up with fear, danger and pain from the dealing's of Voldemort. She gasped suddenly as she felt Ron squeeze her bottom,

"Oi, stop looking at Harry!" he cried, "it's me who wants your attention not him"

"Oh Ron for goodness sa-" she retorted, but Ron silenced her with a kiss and though reluctant at first, she found herself responding and was locked in a passionate embrace with him. Hermione felt tiny goosebumps erupting across her body as she felt Ron's hands gently stroking the flesh on her back under her top and she moaned as he kissed the nape of her neck softly.

"Mmm…Hermione I wish I could satisfy you _right now_" Ron whispered as she ran her fingers up and down his torso while kissing him temptingly.

"You know we can't Ron," she whispered back with a tiny gasp as she felt his hand sliding slowly up and down her inner thigh, "its not fair on Harry…"

Ron sighed disappointingly.

"I know…" he muttered while pulling Hermione closer to his body and feeling her perfect breast's crushing against his chest. Their kiss deepened, and hands wandered – it was too much for Ron to bare as he soon had to stop for fear of having sex with Harry in the room. Hermione suppressed a giggle as Ron groaned; heavily sexually frustrated and told Hermione to shut up because it 'wasn't funny'. Ron couldn't help but laugh a little as Hermione stuck her tongue out at him in response and she soon settled down to nap, cradled in Ron's arms.

As he watched her slowly breathing, Ron suddenly felt a nervous pang in his stomach. He was finally with the girl he loved after so many years of longing for her. What if something happened to him and he left her on her own? Worse still, what if she was snatched from him and he had to live without her, knowing that he would never see her again, never kiss her again, never hear her voice again? He couldn't let that happen. He was going to protect her no matter what…even if it meant sacrificing himself. He loved her too much to let her come to any harm. So many risks lay ahead of them, and yet he knew that they had to face those risks together. Kissing Hermione on the forehead as she slept, Ron realised that he couldn't possibly know what lay ahead of them. All he knew was that the girl he had always loved lay in his arms now, and he would cherish these moments with her forever. And hopefully, just hopefully, someone up there would give him many, many more years of these moments to come.


	4. 12 Grimmauld Place

Hey all! Thanks for all your lovely reviews. Sorry for the delay in this latest update - I've been so busy with family weddings and stuff! I'm going on holiday next week so unfortunately won't be able to update until at least mid-august :( but until then, I hope you enjoy my latest chapter and please continue reviewing and letting me know what you do (and don't!) like :)

Lots of hugs, Maz x x x

* * *

**Chapter Four**

It was nice to feel refreshed after a power-nap; especially if you had spent most of the previous night having wild, passionate sex resulting in very little sleep. Ron made a mental note to himself about how good a nap can make you feel every now and then (especially with a pretty girl in his arms) and made sure that he would try this out in the future when feeling a tad worse-for-wear.

"I'll go under the invisibility cloak and make sure that the coast is clear before we pack up and disapparate" Harry told his friends, who were now starting to gather their things together inside the tent, "you can never be too careful"

Ron and Hermione waited until they were given the all-clear, and then with a wave of her wand Hermione packed up the tent and went to join the boys; ready for disapparation.

"Mate…look I just wanna check with you _one last time_" said Ron with a concerned expression, "are you sure about this?"

"Ron, I appreciate your concern but just trust me on this one ok? I just _know_ that this is the right thing to do" Harry replied, making it clear that the subject was now closed.

Ron closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

_I hope Harry knows what he's doing….for his sake._

Ron, Harry and Hermione found themselves on the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place within a blink of an eye, and Harry felt himself withdraw a little as he realised that the last time he had set foot in the house, Sirius had been alive. His hand froze on the door handle for a moment as he wondered whether he _was_ doing the right thing or not, but the thought left his mind as soon as it had entered – his heart was beating in a way that erased him of all doubt.

As the trio entered, they were greeted to a dull, dusty, dark and dingy sight. Since Harry had sent Kreacher to work in the Hogwart's kitchens the house had been left to its own devices, and was covered in a layer of dust and cobwebs. It looked as though the house had seen no light or laughter since the day that Sirius had tore down the steps of the house and disapparated to the Ministry of Magic to face his death. Harry walked forwards, only to be stopped by Hermione who looked slightly fearful.

"Harry…something's not right…" she whispered, pulling him back.

Both Ron and Harry frowned at her.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked with a puzzled expression etched into his brows.

"Hermione I think its pretty clear that no-ones been in here for a year at least" added Ron, squeezing her hand gently.

Hermione shook her head violently and pointed towards a corner near the end of the corridor. There by the floor lay a small, black umbrella – there was nothing really unusual about it except for the fact that it was completely clean on the side that faced the ceiling. The dust on the walls were thick, except for a cone-shaped patch where the umbrella had once stood; it dawned on Harry that the umbrella had fallen, and (judging by the lack of dust on it) it had fallen recently. All three of the friends took out their wands on impulse, each of them breathing nervously, Ron grasped Hermione tighter and moved forwards desiring to shield her.

"You guys stay here" whispered Harry

"But Harry what if –"

"_Stay here!"_

Slowly and quietly Harry tiptoed forwards, he could feel his heart pounding harder and harder against his ribs as he edged towards the living room door. Ron and Hermione drew a sharp breath and Harry froze on the spot due to a sudden creak being heard from behind the door. Harry looked at his friends, whom both had fearful looks in their eyes, and gulped, he heard Hermione utter a tiny gasp as Harry's hand reached the doorknob. Harry closed his eyes and counted to three; he would swing the door open quickly and have his wand ready and waiting – it was lucky Harry thought, that Dumbledore's Army had formed two years ago, it allowed him to practice reacting much faster than normal, and his reflexes had greatly improved since then. With any luck, he would be able to disarm whoever (or whatever) it was that was in that room before they could even utter a sound.

_One…Two…THREE!_

The door flew open and Harry heard a scream before everything went black.

* * *

Harry could hear distant voices echoing around him.

"He's going to be ok isn't he?"

"What did you go and wack him round the head for you troll?"

"Well I didn't know it was Harry did I Ron? I thought it might have been a Death Eater or something!"

"You could have just disarmed him or something, he's gonna have one hell of a headache now isn't he!"

"Shhhhh! Stop arguing! He's waking up!"

Harry's eyes opened to a blur, and he felt Hermione hand him his glasses which he slipped on and then sat up wincing as he felt a huge throb at the side of his head.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry!"

Harry just sat there for a moment with his mouth half-open gaping at who was standing before him.

"Ginny!" Harry cried in shock, "what the _hell_ are you doing here?!"

Ginny looked somewhat hurt.

"Oh charming Harry thanks – and I thought you'd be pleased to see me" she replied, folding her arms sternly with a look on her face that would make Mrs Weasley proud.

Ron scoffed, "Well you did just knock him out for ten straight minutes Ginny, I think he's a _little bit_ pissed"

"Oh shut up Ron" she retorted, with a scowl.

"_Leave_" muttered Harry, "Get out of here right now"

"Look I said I was sorry –"

"Do you know how dangerous it was coming here on your own? You could have been _killed_"

"Well I wasn't was I?"

"That's not the point though is it!"

"Harry's right Ginny that was really reckless of you, anything could have happened to you" added Hermione who was now performing a charm to reduce the swelling at the side of Harry's head.

"Oh please!" yelled Ginny who now looked furious, "as if you three have never done anything _reckless_ in your lives! You may have earned hundreds of points for Gryffindor while you were at Hogwart's but you lost just as many didn't you? If you and Ron hadn't been _reckless_ in your second year Harry I probably wouldn't be alive today and Hermione if you hadn't been _reckless_ and told everyone about Remus in your third year we probably would never have learnt the truth about Sirius would we?" she finished, catching the remainder of her breath.

The trio all fell silent. It was true. They were the last people to give someone a lecture for being reckless – most of the reckless things that they had done actually turned out to be beneficial for everyone. Ginny had stormed off to the corner of the living room and sat in an old armchair with her arms folded so tight, and with such an angry look on her face that Harry wondered whether she'd ever speak to him again.

"Ginny?" Harry said quietly, "I'm sorry"

Ginny looked into his almond-shaped, green eyes for a moment, then turned away again.

Ron felt Hermione tug at his arm, and she nodded towards the door. It was obvious she felt that they should leave Harry and Ginny alone for a while to talk about things.

Harry lifted himself up from the sofa, walked towards Ginny and knelt down beside her.

"I'm really sorry" he emphasised, placing a hand on her knee. Ginny merely sniffed and refused to look at him.

"I am pleased to see you, you know – its just the last thing I want is for you to get hurt" he said while moving his head to try and get eye-contact with her.

They were silent for a while before Ginny finally spoke with a broken voice.

"I know…I'm sorry Harry I just couldn't bare the thought of not seeing you for so long, and not knowing whether you and the others were ok or not," a tear rolled down her cheek, "I've hardly been able to sleep or eat since you left, and I knew the only way I'd feel better was if I saw you again"

"What made you come here?" Harry asked, now grasping hold of her hand and stroking it gently.

"I don't really know, it was like I knew that I'd find you here if you know what I mean…it was so weird…it sounds stupid but I almost felt as if…as if Sirius told me you'd be here…" she replied wearily.

Harry half-laughed, "Well next time get Sirius to tell you _not _to bash me round the head with a log – it really hurt you know!"

Ginny giggled as Harry pulled her up and kissed her full on the mouth. He had missed her so much and it had only been a couple of days since he last saw her. She felt his tongue tease the inside of her mouth and she responded with enthusiasm, running her hands up and down his body and pulling him in closer. Soon Harry found himself on top of Ginny, laying on the sofa, kissing every bit of bare flesh he could find, she moaned softly as he ran his hands up her inside her blouse and caressed her neck with his moist lips. Ginny wrapped her legs round Harry's waist, pulling his groin closer to hers and reached underneath his shirt, dragging it off his body. She ran her hands down his torso, teasing and tantalising his flesh while he massaged the inside of her mouth with his tongue and started to undo the buttons on her blouse, revealing two round, shapely breasts encased in a cute, tight, baby blue bra.

Ginny gasped as Harry began running his forefinger down her neck, teasing towards her breasts, and sliding further and further down her slender stomach, undoing the button on her jeans and pulling them cleanly off. The both lay still for a second as they heard a sudden thump from upstairs and a loud giggle from Hermione; causing them to laugh quietly. Harry felt small warm hands at his waist before they lead to his jeans and slid them off slowly. Ginny weaned her way on top of Harry, removing her bra and slowly grinding against his manhood as he groaned with yearning. Her breasts looked so inviting – like two perfect-sized apples which he soon began rubbing delicately to Ginny's obvious pleasure. Ginny could feel the warmth between her legs start to tease her, getting hotter and hotter and moistening up, the obvious bulge she could feel against her inner thigh causing her heartbeat to quicken and her breath to get sharper. It was almost too much to handle for Harry who now wanted nothing more than to relieve the ache that he could feel building up in his erection and he swiftly slipped her matching baby-blue thongs right off….

* * *

"Hmmm…I bet I know what those two are up to now that we've left them alone" uttered Ron, grabbing Hermione by the waist at the top of the stairs and pulling her towards him.

"Well, lets just say that I'm sure they'll find a way to make up…" replied Hermione with a fiery look in her eye.

"Oh god…that's my sister we're talking about here Hermione…" cried Ron with a funny sort-of sudden realisation in his voice.

Hermione laughed and kissed him on the lips, allowing him to enter her mouth with his wet, flexible tongue.

"Oh dear," muttered Hermione, breaking apart from Ron's lips "its really cold up here Ronald…I think I need a bit of _warming up_" she finished with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Oh really?" replied Ron, pressing her up against the wall, "well you're in luck Hermione, I think I know just the right man for the job"

Ron grabbed her bottom, causing Hermione to gasp and he began kissing her neck while she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Let's take this somewhere more comfortable shall we?" Ron whispered into her ear. She gave a tinkling laugh as Ron hoisted her up into his arms, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist. While kissing each other passionately, Ron moved backward towards the door behind him and keen to get to business slammed straight into it. A loud thump echoed the corridor followed by a bursting giggle from Hermione, which Ron greeted with a 'Shut up!' before opening the door and pulling Hermione into the room and kissing her again. Within minutes Hermione was underneath Ron with her arms wrapped around his neck, lying on a single bed which stood at the left-hand corner of the room. She felt his hands run up her legs towards her thighs and she moaned seductively as Ron nibbled her ear and bit playfully at her neck. But suddenly Hermione's expression changed to shock as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings.

"Ron," she whispered, "_Ron!_"

Ron pulled himself up to look at her, "What's the matter?" he asked, abruptly aware of the look on her face.

"Look!" she cried, pointing towards the wall.

Ron turned his head to the side, and his eyes widened as he lifted himself up off of Hermione and slowly walked towards the wall. A huge poster of the Slytherin Crest was stuck against the wall, and a large, almost life-like painting of a man who looked remarkably like Sirius – only slightly younger, with shorter hair and not as ruggedly handsome as Sirius had been, but they still shared the same strong jaw and piercing dark eyes that were so familiar to Ron and Hermione.

It was then that Ron noticed it. Etched underneath the painting of the man in bold, silver calligraphy was a name: Regulus Arcturus Black.

"R.A.B…" he whispered, "Hermione…you don't think?"

Hermione looked into Ron's eyes and gulped as she stood up, it was is if they had read eachother's minds and both ran to the door opening it and screaming at the top of their lungs.

"HARRY!"

"HARRY GET UP HERE NOW!"

Downstairs, a highly aroused Harry jumped slightly at this sudden cry from upstairs along with Ginny who was just about to reward Harry for his thrilling attempt at pleasuring her.

"Oh for goodness sake…" cried Ginny, "HARRY'S A LITTLE BUSY AT THE MOMENT GUYS!"

They both laughed and Ginny leant in to kiss Harry once more, but they were interrupted by an even louder roar from Ron who sounded as though he was bursting to the point of exhaustion,

"HARRY YOU MUPPET! WE THINK WE'VE FOUND R.A.B!"

Harry's smile disappeared and he quickly jumped up, pulling on his jeans and zipping them up, he stormed out of the living room and up the stairs, leaving behind a bemused Ginny.

What was going on?


	5. Fearful

Hey all! 

Sorry for the disgustingly late update – only just got back from holiday and had a few things to sort out before I could get writing again! I didn't want you to be kept waiting for too long, so sorry if this chapter is a bit rubbish, but hopefully now I can start up again without a long break  Please let me know what you think, and don't forget to give me your ideas I'd be happy to use any that I think would go with my story!

Lots of love, Maz x x x

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Ron and Hermione didn't seem to notice that Harry had ran into Regulus' bedroom topless - they merely pointed towards the wall as he ran in. After what seemed like forever Harry finally spoke,

"Sirius" he muttered.

Ron and Hermione looked puzzled.

"No…no Harry that's his brother Reg-" Hermione replied only to be interrupted by a clearly stunned Harry who had now turned to look at his friends with a scared look on his face.

"Sirius…" he said, his voice shaking, "he threw out a locket two years ago remember? None of us could open it!"

Hermione clasped a hand to her mouth and Ron looked worried. It was true. They had helped clean Grimmauld Place two years ago while the Order was using it as their headquarters, and Sirius had disposed of many an item which reminded him of his family and which he did not wish to keep any longer. Nearly everyone they could think of had tried to open the locket, and Hermione had performed every charm possible to try and pry it open but nothing had worked, so Sirius just told them to throw it out.

"But…Harry it might not have been Slytherin's locket," spoke Ron with an air of false-hope in his voice, "maybe it was just a locket that the Black's had put a charm on to make sure that only they could open it"

"But what if it wasn't Ron? I don't think that anyone could have put such a strong unbreakable charm on a locket like that…except for Voldemort" replied Harry, feeling a horrible lurch in his stomach.

"Kreacher!" cried Hermione suddenly.

Both Ron and Harry swerved around, assuming that the house-elf had somehow turned up at the house but as Kreacher was nowhere to be seen, they turned to look at Hermione with puzzled looks on their faces.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh for goodness sake! Sirius told us that Kreacher had tried to sneak some of the Black family heirlooms back didn't he? What if he found the locket and kept it!" she said very fast, with a bright, wide, hopeful look in her eyes.

"You're brilliant Hermione" complimented Ron, pulling her towards him and kissing her.

"Errr…hello? Do you mind?" uttered Harry.

Ron and Hermione broke apart immediately, Hermione looking slightly red, but Ron merely replied, "No not really Harry – you gonna summon him or what?"

"Summon _who_?" came a voice from the door.

Ginny was leaning against the door frame, looking slightly annoyed – this look turned to curiosity however when she noticed the painting of Regulus and the Slytherin crest plastered across the bedroom wall. She walked closer to take a gander, and the trio remained silent, as none of them really knew what they could tell her.

"Wow…Sirius' younger brother was pretty cute! Wouldn't have minded meeting _him,_" she said with an impressed sort-of grin on her face.

Hermione scoffed, "Oh _please_ Ginny! Sirius was sooo much better looking than _that!_ He had that rugged, sexy, mysterious look; classic tall, dark and handsome – Regulus is ok, but a bit on the pretty-boy side if you ask me…"

"You can't say that Hermione! Just look at those cheekbones of his! And those lips are-"

"Er, excuse me?" interrupted Harry looking aghast.

"We're standing right here you know, yeah having the time of our lives _we_ are, listening to our girlfriends discuss which Black was better looking" added Ron with his arms-crossed and frowning slightly.

"Yeah!" agreed Harry, "and Hermione, Sirius was my _godfather_ come on, that's just disturbing hearing you talk about him like that it is"

"I never knew you thought Sirius was _sexy_" goaded Ron.

Hermione flushed.

"Anyway forget that now, I need to call Kreacher" stated Harry, who then left the room and ran down the stairs with Hermione, Ron and Ginny in pursuit. On entering the living room, Harry suddenly realised that he had been topless all this time and turned a soft shade of pink, before grabbing his shirt off the floor and pulling it on over his head.

"What are you calling Kreacher for? He's a nasty little thing" asked Ginny.

Harry sighed. "Listen Ginny, I'm gonna let you stay in here while we talk to Kreacher – but you can't say anything or ask us anything more if you do…you know how much I care about you but you've got to understand that I can't tell you anything more, I have to keep the last promise that I made to Dumbledore, it's the least I can do for him"

Ginny looked as though she was exploding with the desire to protest, but on second thought decided to bite her tongue.

_I guess if Dumbledore wanted it this way…it has to be this way._

"Fine…whatever" she replied, walking over and sitting down on the bed.

"Kreacher? I need you here now" said Harry, before hearing that familiar _crack _that told him the house-elf had just apparated right behind him.

Harry turned around to look at that sunken, ugly, long-eared face. That face which had played a part in selling his godfather to Voldemort. Harry had to close his eyes for a moment and take a deep breath to remind him that there were more important things to do then punch Kreacher for what he had done. Before Harry or any of the others could say anything however, Kreacher had burst into tears and was on all fours banging his fists on the floor.

"Master Regulus!" he wailed pathetically, "Kreacher has failed Master Regulus!"

"Kreacher stop crying and sit up" said Harry, kneeling down beside him.

Kreacher grudgingly obeyed at once and sat up, his nose dripping wet.

"Kreacher, I need you to tell me something and I need you to tell me the truth ok? Did you steal back the locket we threw out two years ago?"

"Kreacher took Master Regulus' most precious locket back he did Master Harry" he replied, "but Kreacher could not destroy it like Master Regulus asked him to! Kreacher failed his master!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at eachother. Ginny remained seated on Regulus' bed looking puzzled.

"It is…isn't it Harry?" whispered Hermione, wide-eyed.

"Kreacher where is this locket now? Can I see it please?" he asked hopefully.

"Kreacher could not destroy the locket, Master Regulus asked Kreacher to do it before he died, but Kreacher could not, Kreacher tried everything he did! Everything I swears to you!" Kreacher wailed, big fat tears streaming down his face.

Harry spent the next twenty minutes half-questioning Kreacher and half trying to console him; Kreacher was truly in despair as he recounted what had happened all those years ago, when he had watched his master die and be dragged down by a hoard of Inferi while he, Kreacher, was sworn to secrecy from the rest of the Black family and was given the task of destroying Slytherin's locket. Everything the elf had tried had failed. Kreacher sobbed as he told Harry how he had tried even the harshest, most powerful elf magic and yet, even this did not seem to work. Even though Kreacher had given Sirius to Voldemort, Harry could not help but feel sorry for the elf as he lay there, nose dripping, eyes bloodshot, sobbing away. Hermione had tears in her eyes and looked as though she'd like nothing more than to hug Kreacher and even Ron, who despised the elf just as much as Harry had done, looked shocked and upset.

Harry remembered the vast portrait of Regulus he had seen upstairs, and how the Slytherin crest was plastered everywhere, and how even in his portrait Regulus was proudly wearing the Slytherin robes and scarf. He realised that at the last minute, Regulus had 'panicked' and decided that maybe Voldemort wasn't all he was cracked up to be, and wasn't the right path to follow. Even Regulus, a (from what he could see) a passionate, patriotic Slytherin had been disgusted at the idea of creating a horcrux, and was probably soon revolted by what he had seen that Voldemort was capable of. Even with a family who were so (bar Sirius) obsessed with being a pure-blood, Regulus had seen that the persecution of muggle-borns and muggles was revolting and he decided to take action in the hope that when Voldemort finally met his match, he would be 'mortal once more'. Perhaps even a Slytherin could redeem himself in some form or other. Harry wished that Sirius had been alive to hear this, and wondered whether he and his brother were close before Sirius had 'broke his mother's heart' and ran away at sixteen.

"Kreacher…" Ron's voice broke his thoughts, "where is the locket now?" he asked edging slightly closer toward the quivering elf.

"Answer him Kreacher, please – we can help you fulfill your old master's wishes. Regulus would have been on our side, we want to help finish the work that he started Kreacher. Please tell us where it is," Harry added, placing his hand on Kreacher's shoulder rather hesitantly.

The elf slowly stood up as Harry helped him. At first Kreacher just stood there, looking from Hermione to Harry to Ron and then to Ginny, his eyes bulging with tears that looked set to start falling again, then he clicked his fingers and with an echoing crack, the locket appeared in the hands before him. Harry was rooted to the spot as it dawned on him that they had found the first horcrux and an oddly eerie feeling creeped through his body as he realised that a part of Voldemort's soul was now in the same room as him and his friends. From the looks on Ron and Hermione's faces, they were thinking along the same lines and both of them stepped back – Ron's hand tightly closing over Hermione's.

"Master Harry must take it" whimpered Kreacher, pushing the locket towards him,

Harry's right hand twitched slightly, as if wondering whether it should reach forwards and take the locket or not. He didn't know why he was feeling so nervous. After all wasn't this what he wanted? This was part of the whole plan! Dumbledore had told him to retrieve each of the remaining horcruxes and destroy them, he knew what he had to do and he had been prepared to go to any lengths to do it. It was just that Harry hadn't fully realised that these objects contained a seventh of Voldemort's soul inside them until he had been faced with one of them, and this made the prospect all the more frightening. Harry took a deep breath.

_Pull yourself together Harry, you can do this._

He slowly reached his hand forwards to take the locket,

"Be careful Harry…" whispered Hermione, who was now holding Ron tightly, as if frightened that the locket was about to jump out and attack them.

Harry looked at them both as if to say 'it'll be alright' and gulped as his fingers finally found the chain and he carefully lifted the locket from Kreacher's palm.

For a moment Harry just dangled the locket in front of him, examining it with his eyes – it looked exactly how he had expected it to, having seen it in the memory that Dumbledore had shown him the previous year. Then, as Harry finally braced himself into placing the locket into the palm of his own hand, it was as if he felt a sudden electric shock through his body and he felt a bout of fear, the locket began to shake and shiver and Ron, Hermione and Ginny gasped as metallic clinking sounds started to radiate from the locket, echoing around the room.

He didn't know how he knew, but Harry turned to Ron and Hermione and said,

"It knows. It knows we're here to kill it. This thing is gonna put up one hell of a fight"

"Kill it? What do you mean _kill it_? You can't kill a locket, its not even…its not alive!" cried Ginny who now looked fearful as she watched the others cast shivering looks at the locket which lay before them.

"But how are we supposed to kill it?" asked Ron, ignoring his sister's cry for an answer, "what do we do?"

The trio looked at eachother and it struck them all at that instant, that this…was only the beginning.


End file.
